As Congress gets ready for some challenging negotiations in the upcoming days, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) expresses doubts about whether top Democrats are truly interested in revising the Homeland Security budget. After a four-day partial government shutdown, both parties are gearing up to rehash a contentious Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill, which could jeopardize a bipartisan funding agreement that had been previously established.
With just nine days left to find a solution, Thune doesn’t believe that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are prepared to come to a bipartisan agreement on the bill.
When asked about his trust in Jeffries, who had earlier gone against Schumer’s funding deal with President Trump, Thune responded, “Absolutely not.” He pointed out that both Jeffries and Schumer seem to be hesitant, fearing backlash from their left-leaning constituents. Thune remarked, “In some cases, I doubt Jeffries will make a deal at all.”
On the other hand, Schumer mentioned that Democrats would promptly present a proposal for Republicans to consider. However, Thune highlighted that his side had not yet received any such proposal. Discussions among Democratic leaders might still be in play after Jeffries distanced himself from the Trump-Schumer funding deal. Nevertheless, the two sides met the previous evening, and Schumer confirmed their agreement.
At the moment, the DHS is running under a two-week continuing resolution (CR) that sustains prior funding levels until Congress can finalize a fully funded bill. Yet, Thune and several other Republicans feel that this short window isn’t adequate to facilitate meaningful negotiations.
There’s an ongoing concern whether Congress will need to once again extend the funding or risk another government shutdown. Frustration is mounting among Republicans because the initial DHS bill was a product of bipartisan negotiation, incorporating numerous guardrails and reporting requirements for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to regulate funding based on compliance.
Thune concluded, “I think they want to politicize this issue. Whether a resolution is forthcoming remains uncertain, but what they’re saying publicly doesn’t seem to indicate that as their objective.”
